The adventures of life are meant to be shared.

There are so many other ways to keep people informed or express thoughts or opinions that I forgot to stop in here and spill a desultory thought or two. For example, back in October of last year I let the world know via Twitter that I was expanding my role in PTA, beyond the role of Trust Lands Appointee on the Utah PTA Board, to include helping more men become involved in PTA. I flew to Atlanta for the conference/training and surprisingly had quite a spiritual experience. I was inspired by the men who passionately spoke about how important it is for the father to resume their role as head of their families and be involved with their children in all aspects. I meant to blog about this, but I never got around to it.

Related to my PTA duties, I meant to blog about the 2010 Legislative session that kept me very busy. I uploaded a couple of videos to YouTube and Facebook that showed the House floor debate that took place after weeks of doing what I could (along with the help of many other people) to make sure that a law wasn’t passed that would hurt the PTA in Utah. The bill was ultimately defeated and the law wasn’t changed.

I also testified on behalf of the PTA in the House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee on Feb. 23. I spoke in opposition to H.B. 323 School and Institutional Trust Lands Amendments (Rep. K. Sumsion) and told the committee that they shouldn’t gamble with our children’s money. You can listen to my testimony here starting at 1:30:00. It was towards the end of the meeting and time was short so what I had to say was cut short, as well. I had spent a lot of time preparing my testimony and you can read it in it’s entirety here.

Unfortunately many people were confused by the stance that PTA had taken, thinking that because we opposed HB 323 (the funding mechanism for H.B. 324 and H.B. 143) that we had taken a stance on States’ Rights issues. We were unable to take a position on that because we didn’t have resolutions that had been voted on by our membership that would allow us to speak on States’ Rights issues. I’m still uncertain that this misunderstanding has been resolved, but we were victorious and an alternate funding source was pursued. It was unbelievable how much hate mail we received! Attempts were made for me to go on the Doug Wright show to clear things up, but it was right during the time of the Primary Children’s Hospital fundraiser so that didn’t work out. If you are one of the people that were concerned about the position that PTA took on the funding of these law suits, please contact me so I can better explain our position to you. I’d be happy to talk to you about it.

Most recently I went on a weekend climbing trip to Nevada with a couple of good friends. Google Buzz and Twitter was the social media of choice for the news of the climbing accident that occurred during that trip and the subsequent retelling of the tale by John Orgill. I’ve been tweeting a lot more lately, too, keeping anyone who cares up-to-date on what is going on with the tumors found in my left kidney and the head of my pancreas. I’ll be going in for surgery for those issues in a week or two. They’re still doing some testing on the pancreas to see if it’s cancerous (the doctor thinks not) or if it’s pre-cancerous. They’ll perform what’s known as the whipple procedure if they deem it necessary. We’re hoping to know more after a scheduled endoscopy is performed.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I’ve been feeling much better since my fall and release from the hospital. The hospital actually didn’t release us so much as kick us out once they discovered that they weren’t in our insurance plan. I was glad to be gone, though. One of the worst parts about the whole thing was that in Nevada they didn’t insert the catheter correctly or all the way. It essentially blocked me from being able to relieve myself and I was almost more bothered by that then I was from the blood spewing out of my right ear. Finally when I got to the U of U hospital they fixed it and it was one of the most joyous moments of my life! So thanks to the University of Utah ER folks who got me peeing again. I really appreciate it.

I also have to give a HUGE thank you to the people that dragged me off that mountain. First and foremost is Matt Fisher and John Orgill (my friends who were climbing with me) who say they’re not going to rock climb anymore after being traumatized by the sound of my head cracking on the rock face. I really hope they’ll get over that and join me this summer for some great climbing (after I’ve recovered) and I thank them most of all for having the faith in God to give me a Priesthood blessing. I have no doubt that it helped me through the ordeal and was the cause of a quick recovery. I don’t remember too much about the rescue attempt, but I do remember repeating the names of the people that were carrying me down the mountain on a stretcher. Deputy Aitor Narvaiza was one of the men first on the scene and I was told that I kept apologizing and repeating questions. That was until Aitor arrived and told me to knock it off. He was also the guy that made me repeat the names of everyone carrying me down the mountain and he coached me on some deep breathing so I could avoid throwing up, which is what I remember most about the entire ordeal. I threw up and threw up and threw up!! I don’t ever want to throw up again! Deputy Narvaiza also stayed on the scene after they got me in the helicopter and helped my friends get back to their Jeep. He and all the others who helped me in my time of need are awesome and I owe them all my life! I’m not a big fan of the bills I’ve been getting in the mail, but that’s what insurance is for. I’m really glad there are people out there that you can count on when there is an emergency.

I also have to thank the awesome company that I work for who have been very understanding and supportive during all of this. The corporate office where I work sent me a card that they all wrote in and it was very thoughtful. I insisted on getting back to work this week and I started working from home since I still can’t drive due to dizziness. I also had some stuff to do in our Cedar City office on Thursday and my boss was nice enough to drive me down there. Heck, he was nice enough to let me go! I needed to get out of the house and although it was harder than I thought it would be, I was glad I went. He was also nice enough to lend me his Star Trek movie collection on DVD. I’m a big fan of Star Trek but I’ve never seen Star Trek I through VI. Now I have something to watch in my down time!

I’ll most likely just continue to use the micro-blogging platforms to keep people updated. But, for more major news I might just use this handy-dandy blog that I am the owner of, now that I remember that I have it!

I had no idea the extent of your accident! I am so thankful that you are ALIVE and semi-well. What an ordeal. You are really meant to carry on amongst us here on this earth. I can’t help but wonder what other special purposes from you are in store for all of us–who have been blessed thus far by your presence. God’s speed in your recovery!

I've been following your tweets and keeping up to date, but it was fun to read this. I'm thinking about you and hope all turns out well with the procedures. I also hope your family is coping-being the caregiver is very difficult.

Thanks so much, Holly. You're far too optimistic about my purposes but I appreciate your optimism. I'll try not to disappoint. I appreciate the thoughts and prayers. I have no doubt that prayer makes a difference for me and my family!

Heather is amazing and you're right…she doesn't have an easy task. I know you've been through the rounds with your husband as of late. Heather has been so good to me as she always is. She worries a little more than I'd like her to, but she's coping wonderfully and I appreciate her more than anyone in the world right now. (Of course that's always the case…but especially now.)

Thank you so much, Kim. You and Dixie and others have been so kind to think of me during all of this. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. Congratulations on the wedding of your grandson! I hope your trip was fun and your travels uneventful.

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Definition:

desultory\DES-uhl-tor-ee\, adjective: 1. Jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection; without logical sequence; disconnected; immethodical; aimless; as, "desultory thoughts''